Some Nikon flash units can be set to auto non TTL (Non TTL) mode, at the same time, you can get good correctly exposed photographs. In non-TTL mode, reflected light is not measured with a sensor exposure cameras, and using the light sensor of the flash itself.
Aperture-priority auto for Nikon flashes
Non-TTL auto flash is a very useful feature for difficult shooting situations. Non-TTL auto aperture priority and non-TTL auto flash available only in professional flash units Nikon SB-800, SB-900, SB-910, SB-5000 in amateur flashes SB-400,SB-300, SB-600, SB-700 there is no such regime.
There are several sub-modes of flash operation in automatic mode A (auto, non-ttl):
Aperture-priority flash modes
Icon lightning says that when working in this mode, a testing pre-flash will be performed, in the instruction it is called modeling backlight. Aperture icon (a circle with an asterisk inside) indicates that the flash takes into account the current aperture value set in the menu of the camera itself.
The first and third methods work as follows: the flash before shooting takes test preflash (simulating backlight), the light reflected from objects falls on flash light sensor and the processor of the flash itself calculates the desired power of the main pulse. It turns out that the flash itself measures exposure using your own light meter.
Menu view for setting non-TTL mode to Nikon flash
The second and fourth methods simply measure the intensity of reflected light from objects and do not make trial preflashes. The second method obtains the aperture value directly from the camera itself, and the fourth method requires manual control of the aperture.
Flash light sensor on sb-910
Automatic mode without modeling backlighting is very useful:
- Does not delay the shutter
- Does not spend extra energy on flash accumulators on pre-flash
- No evil the effect of squinting people from pre-flashes
- The flash can work automatically on amateur cameras with non-studded manual lenses, such as lenses AI-S type. TTL mode with such lenses is not available when used on amateur CZKs.
- This the method can be used with simple radio triggers.
Light sensor on sb-900
However, in the mode without test flashes you can not use high speed FP sync, it is available in 'A' mode only when using the simulation backlight.
When using flash remote control with Nikon CLS one of 3 remote flash options is available: TTL, M,AA... AA mode is the same mode Auto aperture - automatic mode with aperture priority, but instead of the aperture icon in the camera menu there is the letter A, so the mode is called 'AA'. By the way, some cameras have a separate AA mode in their menu for external flashbut I never shot it with his help.
Important Note
When working with older Nikon AI class lenses, AI-S, PRE AI and any other non-autofocus optics without processor contacts, you can get automatic flash operation in 'A' mode. Even on simple amateur cameras Nikon D40, D40x, D50, D60, D70, D70s, D80, D90, D3000, D3100, D3200, D5000, D5100, D5200o and advanced D100who do not know how to work with manual optics, flashes SB-800, SB-900, SB-910, the SB-5000 will operate in aperture-priority auto mode. This is very convenient when working with manual lenses in poor lighting, where almost all Exposition depends on flash operation. For example, in poor lighting conditions, you can manually set the desired focal length and aperture of the manual lens on the flash, and set the minimum ISO and shutter speed on the camera to 1/60 s, the flash will calculate the required exposure and the picture will be correctly exposed without a long selection of the required excerpts. You can also use this mode in any other lighting conditions. If on amateur cameras with a manual lens use the built-in flash, or flash SB-700, SB-600, SB-400, SB-300, the flash output must be set manually.
Personal experience
Flash mode 'A' is very convenient, the lack of FP mode when shooting in low light is a mere trifle, since shutter speeds up to 1/250 second are enough for me. Sometimes TTL, TTL + BL, TTL + BL + FP mode can be very wrong due to the complex specifics of the exposure meter, which strongly depends on the algorithms of the camera itself. 'A' auto flash can often handle difficult conditions much better than TTL modes, such as when shooting against a mirror, where TTL metering 'sees' the flash in the frame and takes an underexposed shot, 'A' auto is just gives an impulse calculated on the direct current illumination of objects in front of the mirror. Lately, I have been using A mode quite often on my flash units when shooting in very low light rooms such as nightclubs, cafes, etc.
Instead of flash level compensation + - in 'A' auto mode without aperture priority, it is very convenient to use apertures other than the current value. For example, when the aperture on the camera is F / 3.5, I set the flash to F / 4.0, which allows you to get a well-lit scene, you need to experiment with this. It's a pity that not all flashes have such a useful function, and the instructions for flashes are written in a language that most people cannot understand.
Conclusions
Can make flash Nikon SB-800, SB-900, SB-910, SB-5000 can work in auto mode without TTL support, and you can achieve lack of preflashes and all the negative points associated with testing flashes in TTL modes. Sometimes auto 'A' mode on Nikon flash units can perform much better than TTL mode. I recommend that you test this mode in your personal practice.
Нpress the buttons ↓↓↓ social networks ↓↓↓ - it is important for me. Thank you for your attention. Arkady Shapoval.
Many thanks. Recently bought 910, and did not know such a nice feature. And I still can’t find the time for instructions
It's my pleasure :)
Interesting article. I read your blog and from almost every article I learn new things.
> It is a pity that not all flashes have such a useful function, and the instructions for flashes are written
> in a language that most people cannot understand.
In Tatar or what? ;about)
But seriously, then you’ll not write everything in the instructions, really.
But you, Arkady, open your eyes to many things from your experience, also with examples, for which many thanks to you.
The instruction is written in a clear technical language that is difficult for many people to understand :)
Yes, I'll try as a beginner I did not attach importance to this mode
I read about the attitude to the instructions ...
I don’t understand why, then, to acquire equipment whose capabilities are not only not being used, they are not even aware of them!
Like a gorgeous bike:
- I don't like Vivaldi's opera.
- Have you even listened?
-That's not ... But the godfather sang, didn't like it.
Nobody says that the instruction does not like, do not change the meaning of the written, it is about the fact that the instruction is written in terms that are only understandable to experienced users of photographic equipment, is it difficult for beginners to understand, or am I wrong?
Arkady, of course you are right, but the other is not clear, why does a fan need professional puffs? Most of them use either the built-in or cheap Nissin, very rarely buy a 2500-ku for 700. Show me an amateur who gave 4000 UAH for a carcass and 3500 for a puff.
And those who are seriously engaged in photography, so specific terms are clear to them for a long time, like God's day.
PS. and thank you for the material!
I can show a person, but your thought is clear to me.
Well, he gave it away and what? Why do I need any Chinese crap if there is a native flash? And I'm not a professional, I have two cameras, five lenses and an SB 910 flash just like that - sometimes I shoot at home!
Yes, you noticed Arkady correctly - the instruction is written in clear technical language (it does not read like a textbook). Not that beginners, advanced users are not all proficient with this type of flash "at the level". Japanese engineers have laid great potential in this miracle of technology, as evidenced by its “modest” cost.
Interestingly, the modes indicated in this article are intended for use in continuous shooting? I use TTL + BL or TTL + BL + FP for the burst, on the D7000 camera I use A or M - in most cases the burst slows down very much after the first shutter. It turns out that the meaning of the serial shooting itself is lost. Although logically, this flash should be designed to fire multiple times together with the camera shutter (5 or more fires per second).
Depending on the power of the main flash pulse, the recharge time is calculated, for example, at high ISO and an open aperture in poor lighting conditions, the flash can work in series in TTL mode for a very long time.
Thanks! ISO - I try not to go beyond 800 on the D7000. Is the open aperture in this case 2,8 or 3,5-5,6?
So I'm not about you!: - D
Honestly, I would be ashamed to say that I did not read the instructions for multi-gadgets that were or were at my disposal.
Although he could write it to some of them.
:)
Thank you, Arkady! Finally, you have put all the dots on the "i" in my understanding of this regime. I have been using it for a long time, but, more and more, "by eye", on a whim, and then everything became clear. And at the expense of the language, you are 1000% right, besides, not all flash units have Russian instructions - mine does not, for example. Thanks!
I am glad to help
Longer than a tsikava article, pressing tilka to sleep without scribbling.
Arkady naprikіntsі statty is a small occult "in the nightclubs".
Updated. Thanks.
Immediately after the release of this article, I tested this mode on a freshly bought SB910 ..
In aperture priority mode without TTL, the frames were much darker, and this is the only effect I noticed ..
Yes, the picture with the flash in the mirror was more properly exposed, but it's not so often have to shoot through the mirror)
In general, it is possible that in difficult conditions this mode will manifest itself, but in my apartment I could not feel its advantages.
I see the advantage of this mode in that there is no pre-flash and squinting people from it, as well as with manual optics the flash works, which is described in the article.
Duzhe corisna article, Arkadiy! The daughter of the front dormant windows was squinting, and in the manual mode the dormant nalashtovuvati davgo, to that having tried the mode without TTL with the priority of the diaphragm in the middle of the video. Dyakuyu for your stat !!!
I bought 910, the first flash, before that I had no business with them. I read the entire instruction, and yes, it also says that preflashes are disabled in some modes, but the fact is that in all 4 modes And she (pre-flash) working.
that can not set up?
what settings to set so that there is no preheat?
Such as described in the article
Your answer did not help me in any way. I read the article more than once. The way out of the situation is simple - the camera had a flash mode with red-eye reduction, removing it, the preflashes are turned off in the preset A modes of the external flash.
The question was about the external flash, not the camera settings. I'm glad that everything worked out for you.
Hello Arkady! Do you have a link to the Russian-language manual for the SB-900? I will be very grateful!
Dmitrysh, here is the link
http://www.svadbakirov.ru/ph/index.php?showtopic=302&mode=threaded
Thank you, Arkady, that you and your implications HAVE! Very informative. I have a question (I'm just learning to be a photo wizard), (Nikon D5100) when raising the built-in flash, in any mode: Auto, P, S, A, the exposure meter immediately goes to minus value (arrow in minus value)…. when connecting external (SB-700) the same thing. What is this, a manufacturing defect? When buying an 18-200 lens when checking on a scale, the seller showed the results, the blur went up to 2,5, complained about the camera and the need to adjust it, they say, it's in it. what to do, do not tell me? Thanks in advance!
This is normal - the exposure meter shows the exposure value at the current shutter speed / aperture / iso setting with the flash off.
Arkady thank you very much for the article, although I prefer to work in manual mode, sometimes I still have to switch to automation.
And your article certainly clarifies many details.
The flash nikon sb900 is very good and it has few competitors, but it has a small minus, it sometimes heats up and I noticed that this happens in "Automatic mode" much faster now after your article, I understand why.
Arkady thank you very much !!!
Arkady I have a flash Sat 910, I figured out everything in the printer except for the “pushing flash” 5,10 it d kilohertz, you have examples of photographs with a “pushing” flash, what exactly they give and how interesting it is to take photos with this flash-exposure mode etc
The strobe mode is a very interesting thing, there will be time, I will prepare an article.
Good afternoon, we really need your help! nikon d90, lens through a reversing ring, flash nissin Di466. I cannot connect the flash even in manual mode (the flash display in the camera is flashing), it works only without connecting to the camera using a wireless connection from the built-in flash, but this option does not suit! Tell me, is there any way to make the flash (Di466) work through a cable? (I tried other flashes, only those are connected where autofocus is disabled in the flash itself) ...
Good evening! I'm just starting to use a DSLR. I read a lot of useful things on this site, but I have such a question, tell me, is it possible to shoot at night in “A” mode and how to set it up on a DSLR. My camera is Nikon D5100. Anyway, which mode is better to use at night? Thanks in advance!
Is there a similar mode in the top canon flashes?
Is.
The 600EX has Auto.A modes and Auto.M.
A is identical to the first of the article, M is identical to the fourth.
Arkady hello!
I just can't tame my camera down (nikon d600) when working with the built-in flash. When using a flash (2-3 meters to the object), there is always a noticeable overexposure. I shoot in aperture control mode. Now I tried it. photo to the room. The camera set the shutter speed to 1/50 (which is obviously a lot!) And set the ISO to 1000. Focus - 50 mm. Flash in SLOW mode
If you set the flash power in the settings to 1/64 - 1/128 - good photos. What should I do for the camera to set the appropriate power by itself? Or am I having a different error somewhere?
Please advise the transmitters for synchronization with an external flash for nikon d600, flash sb-700
Nissin air system
Good afternoon, this question: I can’t configure the SB910, so that it would work without a pre-flash from the youngnuo 622n synchronizer, Nikon d7000
For more than four years he filmed professionally in the D-50 + Metz 40MZ-2 bundle (there was no money to buy the best set). How did I connect a digital camera with a film flash, and even in the standard configuration (with one central terminal)? - you ask. It's simple: in “A” mode. The shots came out very well filled with light in depth and along the front. Only "overshoots" were left in the marriage due to the unsuccessful charging of the capacitors. In other cases, the "A" mode coped with exposure metering amazingly! Going to a variety of indoor shoots, I felt completely confident in an accurate result that I could absolutely control and precisely control. Years later, I "moved" to a more advanced method of shooting - with TTL control (SB-800). And so it began! .. Completely unpredictable results! Either unfinished, then too much, .. Works as he wants, and often does not want to. You are waiting for one according to calculations, it gives out such a pretzel !! I was exhausted, melancholy overcame. And to return to Metz, it seems like a renegade ... I tried the A mode on the SB-800 - oh, miracle! - everything began to work out! Learn for a century! ...
In terms of some refinement to the article:
A modeling light / backlight is the repeated firing of a flash to illuminate in order to understand what the depth of field will be and how the shadows will form.
So it has nothing to do with the TTL metering pre-pulse (you called it “test preflash”).
The article is interesting and useful for a quick general review, but it becomes a little incomprehensible with this mistake in terminology (